These Two Young Entrepreneurs Puts the Fun in Business

Everyone wants to be their own boss, but other than having insane business skills, there’s one more thing most entrepreneurs should have locked down by now, which is relevance. Why? Being on trend is key in understanding not just your own market, but is also an essential step to relating to your consumers not as a boss, but as a friend.

Furthermore, today’s business climate demands constant innovation to stay current. These entrepreneurs are making waves in the market because they don’t rely on their marketing team to do the job or promotion, they take charge on being the face of what they stand for. According to a source, “marketing is much more than making ads for various media, it’s conveying who you are and what your brand is about to the world.”

We can’t think of Fashion Valet, without thinking of Vivy Yusof herself. An award-winning businesswoman, Yusof has appeard in various local media and has graced Forbes as one of Asia’s Top 30 under 30. Besides overseeing her brand’s image, Yusof is also a social media influencer who has 1.3m followers on Instagram and 33.9k followers on Twitter.

But before her status as an influencer, did you know Yusof was an LSE law student who wrote regularly in her blog www.proudduck.com for 10 years? It’s no wonder the public is highly aware of Yusof’s personal life. Thanks to her impeccable style that are showcased in her outfit of the day photos (ootd), Yusof has influenced a generation of women especially Hijabis, to embrace the head scarf. It’s often said that we must represent what we believe in, and Yusof has successfully done that since the birth of her brand in 2010.

Beauty powerhouse Hermo is one of the most reliable online stores and we’ve got Ian Chua to thank. Like Vivy Yusof of Fashion Valet, Chua is a young entrepreneur who is also listed in the Forbes Asia’s Top 30 under 30. Despite not having that much of a social media presence, Chua is evidently hip in his business strategy, putting aside marketing for a more excellent customer service.

However, Chua is still strong in his marketing tactics, putting importance in hiring the right people for Hermo, the leading beauty e-commerce in the country at the moment. Alongside his two other partners (who are also male), Chua had no prior experience in business and not even a single clue on what makeup is all about. Now, not only has he defied gender stereotypes by being an expert in the field, but most importantly, his investment in understanding his customer needs – putting a men’s section to ease the male shopper’s experience – will continue to make Hermo more accessible to both women and men.

Challenging business took more than just marching forward, but it is a continuous battle among themselves that they had to face every day. These are more than these two young entrepreneurs out there who struggled their way, but what makes entrepreneurship fun is by living it!